Chapter 75: _ The Girl in the Prophecy

Beside me, Miriel leaned in close, her eyes shining with adoration. "Oh, gods," she whispered excitedly. "I love her. I want her to step on me."

"She’s insane. I like her." Bren whispered back, though she looked thoroughly impressed.

Professor Vespera turned back to the chalkboard, sweeping her hand through the air. With a flick of her wrist, three glowing white runes materialized on the slate.

"Now, turn to page one of your codices. Today, we begin our study of the foundational mandate of this institution: The Great Prophecy of the Ruin and the Rebirth."

She began pacing the length of the podium. "Most institutions teach you about hope first. They feed you sweet fairy tales about salvation to make you feel safe. Here, we teach you about the threat first. We force you to stare into the abyss until you understand precisely how close we are to total annihilation."

She paused, turning her gaze toward the class. "Can anyone tell me why this academy was built three hundred years ago?"

A sharp-looking boy in the front row immediately raised his hand. "To train the dragon-riders to fight the Shadow Lord!"

"Elementary," Vespera scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "A child’s answer. The academy was built because the prophecy explicitly dictates that the final battle will take place in the Concorded Realm itself. The threat is real, it is ancient, and it is coming. However..."

A faint smile touched the corner of Vespera’s red-painted lips. "As much as the prophecy preaches destruction, blood, and the collapse of the four realms... there is a singular beam of light."

She turned back to the board, tracing a golden circle around the central rune.

"The prophecy dictates that when the stars align and the ancient seals crumble, a single female will emerge," Vespera said in an almost mystical hush that had the entire room leaning forward. "A girl destined to bear the weight of the worlds. A girl who possesses the key to either sealing the darkness forever... or plunging us all into eternal night."

Vespera turned back to the room, resting her hands on her pointer. "Let us test your foundational knowledge. Which faction is this destined savior said to emerge from?"

Instantly, dozens of hands shot into the air.

"The Elves!" a boy in the second row called out confidently. "The ancient texts say she will be ethereal, possessing the purity of the elder forests!"

"Nonsense! She will emerge from the Fairies! Only whimsical, wild magic can pierce the Shadow Lord’s armor!" Another girl countered.

"She will be a Dragon!" a boisterous noble boy slammed his fist onto his desk. "We are the most powerful, dominant creatures in the four realms! It is insulting to even suggest she could be anything less!"

A chaotic debate erupted across the amphitheater, students shouting over one another.

Professor Vespera let out a laugh that instantly silenced the room.

"Fools," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Every single one of you. That, my dear hatchlings, is one of the greatest, most enduring mysteries of the Great Prophecy. The ancient texts are completely silent on her origin. She could be a Dragon. She could be a Fae. She could be an Elf, a Tiger, or a Wolf." She paused, her eyes flickering briefly over the back row. "She could even be born without a mark at all. It is entirely undecided."

Beside me, I leaned over to whisper to Miriel and Bren. "I can’t believe people actually believe this dramatic nonsense. It sounds like a bedtime story invented by old lords to keep people buying weapons."

Miriel gasped loudly, slapping her hand over her mouth. "Elira! Wash your mouth out with salt water! The Prophecy is sacred!"

"It’s literally written in the stars, Elira," Bren whispered, looking at me like I’d lost my mind. "The high seers of all four realms signed the Mandate of Seals three hundred years ago. It’s not a story. It’s history."

"If it’s so real," I grumbled under my breath, "how come no one has ever found this magical girl? How come she hasn’t just popped up, waved her magic wand, and fixed everything?"

"Silence in the back!" Professor Vespera barked, her sharp gaze cutting directly toward our corner.

I instantly closed my mouth, staring down at my blank parchment.

"Now," Vespera continued, pacing back to the center of the podium. "Whichever faction this special girl is destined to emerge from... who among you knows the catch? The fatal twist embedded within her destiny?"

Near the middle row, a brilliant-looking girl raised her hand with poise.

"Speak, Initiate," Vespera commanded.

"The catch," the girl began with scholarly pride. "is the Bond of Four. The chosen girl is fated to draw four powerful warriors to her side—one from any of the primary high houses. However, only one of them is her true, divine soulmate. The other three bonds are artificial illusions, strategically woven by the Hell Lord himself to breed jealousy, chaos, and betrayal among her protectors so that she fails before reaching the altar of seals."

"Excellently answered," Professor Vespera said, nodding in approval.

The girl preened, tossing her silvery hair as her friends puffed out their chests, whispering proudly about how their group was sure to emerge the most brilliant of the first-years.

"Yes, yes, praise your friend’s intellect later," Vespera cut in dryly, waving her hand. "The girl speaks the truth. The four emotional bonds will feel unnaturally real. They will burn with irresistible intensity—so much so that the artificial bonds will feel overwhelming, while the true, divine mate bond may initially seem like the most unreal, quiet connection of them all. It is a psychological labyrinth designed to shatter her heart before she can save the world."

My breath caught in my throat and my hands began to tremble beneath the desk.

Four bonds. Terrifying, irresistible intensity. Jealousy and chaos.

My mind flashed violently through the last forty-eight hours.

Raice... with his quiet guidance at the concourse and the explosion of desire later at the Ball.

Remus... with his desperate concern in the Great Hall, screaming at his own twin sisters for my sake. Not to mention the promise from eight years ago.

Ivar... the Wolf Prince who had stalked my friends and me. Who had saved us... saved me.

Zev... the wild, dangerous Tiger Prince who had dragged me through the hall, fighting Remus into a bloody pulp just to keep his hands on me.

Ajax... the strange Lion Prince who had chosen me for the first dance and slid a dark, questionable bracelet on my wrist for protection.

But... these were five men. However, if attraction was the keyword, then it narrowed it down to four, didn’t it?

Could it be...?